A team of cetacean experts of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Sea Turtles Project found a female green turtle stranding in the mud flats under the mangrove forests in the backwaters of Sandspit beach of Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi. It was undernourished and exhausted.

The carapace measured 70cm long and 64cm wide. IUCN’s cetacean team led by Assistant Project Coordinator of Sea Turtles Project Dr Babar Hussain rescued the turtle and nursed it for few hours. Latter it was carried to the turtle nesting site at Sandspit beach and was released back to Arabian Sea, safely. “The turtle was stranding in the mud flats for more than three days and in critical condition, “Hussain told The Nature News (TNN), adding it survived due to the heavy downpour on early Saturday morning.

DR Hussain said that it is egg laying season for the green turtle and it was washed into the mangrove forests with tidal current and stranded there.

Sandspit beach of Sindh coast along coastline of Karachi, is supposed on the important nesting grounds for the Green Turtles in Indian Ocean, where, according to Sindh Wildlife Department’s official data, every year an average of 800 nests have been observed at these beaches.

Under the supervision of Ghulam Qadir Shah, IUCN-Pakistan is running ‘Saving the Endangered Sea Turtles on Coastal Areas of Pakistan’ project, which is funded by the USAID Small Grants and Ambassador’s Fund Program.